‘Children believe I’m a person from a thousand years ago appearing in their classroom’
Lucas Norton’s Viking alter ego has been bringing history to life for schoolchildren all over the world during the pandemic
Few people can boast they’ve been asked to leave their local shop because they have a medieval sword strapped to their side. But then few people impersonate a Viking for a living.
Jorvik Viking Centre in York and has created his Viking character, Kjartan, to provide an immersive learning experience for schoolchildren around the world.With the pandemic shutting down museums, the centre has had to take its sessions online.
“Since last September we’ve run over 200 online sessions in schools all over the country and as far away as Spain, Switzerland and Thailand,” says Lucas.
“We’ve found these online sessions are really good for children. I appear in their classroom on a giant screen with a backdrop of a Viking home behind me and lots of artefacts on the table. They seem to really believe that I’m a person from a thousand in my blacksmith’s shop that morning, and they’ll believe me.”
And this creative learning experience is all made possible by players of The National Lottery: by playing it you raise £30 million every week* for good causes like this.
“If anything good has come out of the pandemic it is our ability to expand our virtual offering,” says Lucas. “We run up to five sessions a day, and they’re very different from when we used to meet the children in the museum. Often the questions I’m asked are a lot more personal but on screen they’re more likely to ask me about my third daughter and I’m forced to create a rich, realistic character on the spot.”
As well as delivering “Meet a live streams were watched by over 3,000 children across the UK and the prerecorded sessions reached more than 12,000 people worldwide.
Lucas has been working as a Viking for over five years and it’s unsurprising his alter ego can spill out onto the streets of York.
“If I’m in a rush, I’ll leave work in my full garb. I have had a few strange looks from people, and a security guard did ask if I could come back without my Viking sword when I popped into a local shop for some tea bags.”
But Lucas wouldn’t have it any other way – he loves to bring history to life for kids who may never otherwise get to experience it.
Children love to learn about history and see old objects – it helps them understand the world today
history and see old objects as it helps them understand the modern world today, such as why we dress as we do. It’s thanks to National Lottery players that we can create these rich learning experiences for children, no matter where they live.”